Second half fightback as Munster take spoils
Dragons RFC suffered defeat on home soil as a powerful and ruthless Munster side stormed to a BKT United Rugby Championship success at Rodney Parade.
The Men of Gwent went into the Round 10 fixture hoping to repeat the famous victory they secured the last time the Munstermen played in Newport in 2022.
But a bruising encounter – that saw Dragons lose Taine Basham and Rodrigo Martinez inside ten minutes and Harri Ackerman and Ryan Woodman before the hour mark – saw the visitors power away.
A brutal opening half saw Munster – who had won just once away from home this season – open up a commanding 31-0 lead.
The home side showed plenty of spirit in the second period with Chris Coleman, Harry Wilson and Dane Blacker grabbing consolation tries but there was to be no try bonus score.
Dragons made six changes to the starting line-up as Brodie Coghlan, Dan Lydiate, Jared Rosser, Harri Ackerman, Morgan Lloyd and Lloyd Evans were called up.
Munster were fast out of the blocks fast and a slick move on three minutes freed up space down the left to create an overlap and send Diarmuid Kilgallen over for the opening try.
George Young was an early replacement for Taine Basham as more sustained Munster pressure saw Gavin Coombes only denied by the TMO for grounding the ball short.
Rodrigo Martinez hobbled off to compound a painful opening ten minutes for the home side.
Dan Lydiate had to be alert to swoop on loose ball while captain Owen won a penalty at the breakdown as Dragons battled for possession and territory in the opening quarter.
Munster were playing a huge amount of pace and intent, with more powerful running and quick ball finding space for back row Alex Kendellen to bust the line and score. Burns added the extras.
The wave of red pressure was proving too hot to handle as more slicks hands after a line break out wide made space for full back Ben O’Connor to race in.
The bonus point was wrapped up when a behind the back pass sent Daly away and when he was taken down by a high tackle from Lloyd Evans it resulted in a penalty try and yellow card for the home fly half.
The home side needed a foothold in the game and finally enjoyed time in the Munster half with Ackerman and Lewis-Hughes looking to take the fight to the visitors were powerful runs in heavy traffic.
Evans returned but it was Munster who remained in control with loosehead Dian Bleuler burrowing over after rolling out of tackle form close range.
Another change before the break saw Ackerman replaced by Wilson in midfield as Dragons ended the half on the front foot but unable to break the Munster defensive line.
Dragons, with Blacker on at the break, needed an immediate response and got one two minutes into the second half when Chris Coleman crashed over after a burst from Evans.
Woodman was the latest casualty of a bruising affair, replaced by Barny Langton-Cryer on 47 minutes.
Munster used their power up front to crunch a driving maul over with replacement Josh Hodnett the scorer.
Blacker cut a nice line from deep, but twice Dragons missed the chance to go wide as passes failed to find the men.
Replacement Wilson broke clear down the left flank with a nice line and fed a marauding Owen before the ball found its way back to the Australian to score.
Visiting scrum half replacement Paddy Patterson had a try ruled out for a knock on in the final ten minutes before play switched ends and Wilson again broke the line and fed Blacker for a score.
Timeline:
03m Kilgallen t 0-5
17m Kendellen t Burns c 0-12
19m O’Connor t Burns c 0-19
20m Penalty t 0-26
34m Bleuler t 0-31
42m Coleman t 5-31
54m Hodnett t Butler c 5-38
68m Wilson t Evans c 12-38
74m Blacker t Reed c 19-38
Dragons RFC: Huw Anderson, Rio Dyer, Aneurin Owen, Harri Ackerman (Wilson 37), Jared Rosser, Lloyd Evans (Reed 69), Morgan Lloyd (Blacker 40); Rodrigo Martinez (Kelleher-Griffiths 10), Brodie Coghlan (Benjamin 51), Chris Coleman (Latu 62), Joe Davies, Ryan Woodman (Langton-Cryer 47), Shane Lewis-Hughes, Dan Lydiate, Taine Basham (Young 4)
Replacements: James Benjamin, Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Paula Latu, Barny Langton-Cryer, George Young, Dane Blacker, Will Reed, Harry Wilson
Munster: Ben O’Connor; Shane Daly, Tom Farrell, Rory Scannell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Billy Burns, Ethan Coughlan; Dian Bleuler, Diarmuid Barron, Oli Jager; Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern; Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Kieran Ryan, John Ryan, Evan O’Connell, Brian Gleeson, Paddy Patterson, Tony Butler, John Hodnett.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR, 35th game)
Attendance: 4,562
